American Bungalow Magazine - The Magazine published in the interest of preserving and restoring the modest American 20th Century Home, the Bungalow, and the rich lifestyle that it affords.

By Jennifer and Dan Harrison,
Anaheim, California

After finding substantial leaks beneath the house, we decided the time was right to plumb in a new line and add a second bath to our 1920 Craftsman bungalow. A 1940a partial front-porch conversion left a useless closet off the master bedroom with a bordered over window visible only from the exterior. Crossing our fingers, we began to cut through the lath and plaster, hoping to find the window intact beneath. To our surprise, the procedure only took 15 minutes and opened the window, which had not given sunlight for decades. Now we had a small space - less than 3.5′ wide by 7′ long - for a powder room.

Thinking Petite

The ideas for the new bathroom poured in from there on, but our biggest challenge seemed to come from businesses and contractors who did not understand or appreciate our old home. Finding a tile manufacturer with reproduction art deco tile was a huge challenge. We have a large area here in Anaheim called “Tile Mile” and not a single store had anything even resembling what we wanted. They would scoff at our photos and try to encourage us to modernize our bathroom.

Even picking out fixtures and hardware was a tedious task - they always suggested elongated toilets, watered-down color palettes and hardware that was either Victorian or Modern. Finally we consulted our neighborhood Web group (anaheimcolony.com) for resources and support; this was a wealth of information from individuals who are interested in the preservation of historical houses in our area. They turned us on to many of the resources we ended up using.

At first we thought the only sink that would fit would be a corner or petite model. But after measuring, drawing chalk marks and stacking boxes to simulate space, we saw that a small pedestal sink would indeed fit. Re-creating the missing woodwork would have been a great challenge if not for the expert carpentry of my dad, Jim Gangy. He had to combine three separate pieces of wood just for the top portion of the molding. He also replaced the hole left by the window air conditioner with a small hinged window fabricated from scratch.

As for the tile, Dan Ferguson was a miracle worker. The greatest struggle was how far up the wall the tile wainscot should go. We based the measurement on our other bathroom, modified slightly because of the window. Wall sconces were purchased off the shelf at Lowe’s for around $50 each. We also saw them at Home Depot, Expo, and The Great Indoors; Lowe’s had the best price.

The entire project took approximately one month. Having taken the time to choose quality materials and experts pays off every time we show off our house: people are always surprised to learn our bathroom is new.

The cramped quarters have also provided us with a permanent chuckle: one day we came home to find our family friend and electrician, Chuck Swanson, on a ladder: my father installing some molding; and the plumber, Darle Booth, lying underneath the house - proving that a powder room can indeed exceed a capacity of one!

Jennifer Harrison is a teacher, photographer, and fearless home improvement maven, and Dan is an information systems manager in the window coverings field and a devotee to the integrity of older homes.

Resources All Based In Southern California:

Tile Supplier
Mission Tile West
South Pasadena, CA 626 799-4595

Lighting
Lowe’s
The Great Indoors

Sink & Toilet
St. Thomas Creations
sink: Petite Pedestal $372
toilet: Richmond Round Bowl $450

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